Rosalind Frances Croucher (born 14 November 1954) is an Australian lawyer and academic who was the President of the

Australian Human Rights Commission The Australian Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution of the Commonwealth of Australia, established in 1986 as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) and renamed in 2008. It is a statutory body fu ...

from July 2017 to July 2024. She was previously President of the

Australian Law Reform Commission The Australian Law Reform Commission (often abbreviated to ALRC) is an Australian independent statutory body established to conduct reviews into the law of Australia. The reviews, also called inquiries or references, are referred to the ALRC by ...

from December 2009 until July 2017, having served as a full-time commissioner since 2007.

Education

Croucher graduated with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours and a Bachelor of Laws from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

and completed her Doctor of Philosophy in legal history at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

. She was admitted as a legal practitioner in New South Wales in 1981.

Academic career

In 1997 to 1998, Croucher was the Acting Dean of the

Sydney Law School Sydney Law School (informally Sydney Law or SLS) is the law school at the University of Sydney, Australia, Australia's oldest university. Sydney Law School began a full program of legal instruction in 1890 following the appointment of its first d ...

and then the Deputy Chair of the

Academic Board in 1999. She then moved to

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

as the Dean of the

Macquarie Law School Macquarie Law School (Macquarie Law or MQ Law) is the law school of Macquarie University and was established in 1972 as Sydney's third law school. Established as a foundational discipline of Macquarie University, Macquarie Law School is one of A ...

from 1999 to 2007. From 2002 to 2003, Croucher was the Chair of the Council of Australian Law Deans and the Vice-President of the International Academy of Estate and Trust Law from 2000 to 2005. Croucher's academic expertise as a lecturer and researcher is in the fields of equity, trusts, property, inheritance and

legal history Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has evolved and why it has changed. Legal history is closely connected to the development of civilizations and operates in the wider context of social history. Certain jurists and his ...

. She has written or edited nine books, including ''Succession: Families, Property and Death'', ''Families and Estates: A Comparative Study'', and ''Law and Religion – God, the State and the Common Law''. She has also authored over 100 publications including book chapters, encyclopedia entries, journal articles, casenotes and conference papers.

Law Reform Commission

Croucher was appointed a full-time Commissioner of the

by the

Howard government The Howard government refers to the Government of Australia, federal executive government of Australia led by Prime Minister John Howard between 11 March 1996 and 3 December 2007. It was made up of members of the Liberal Party of Australia, Li ...

in 2007 and was made President in 2009. Croucher was reappointed President in 2014 and subsequently in 2015 for a further three-year term. Croucher was the Commissioner-in-charge of nine significant law reform inquiries including into Client Legal Privilege, Secrecy Laws,

Family Violence Domestic violence is violence that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. In a broader sense, abuse including nonphysical abuse in such settings is called domestic abuse. The term "domestic violence" is often use ...

, Discovery, Age Barriers, Disability Laws, the Freedoms Inquiry, and the

Elder Abuse Elder abuse (also called elder mistreatment, senior abuse, abuse in later life, abuse of older adults, abuse of older women, and abuse of older men) is a single or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where ...

Inquiry.

Human Rights Commission

On 20 June 2017, Attorney-General

George Brandis George Henry Brandis (born 22 June 1957) is an Australian former politician. He was a Australian Senate, Senator for Queensland from 2000 to 2018, representing the Liberal Party of Australia, Liberal Party, and was a Cabinet (Australia), cabin ...

announced that Croucher would be appointed President of the

in place of

Gillian Triggs Gillian Doreen Triggs (born 30 October 1945) is an Australian and British public international lawyer, specialising in human rights and trade and commercial law. She is also an academic, barrister, and director. She became widely known in Aust ...

. Her seven-year term began on 30 July 2017. In March 2018, Croucher wrote a report recommending that compensation be awarded to a man because he was refused employment by banking and insurance company

Suncorp Group Suncorp Group Limited, known simply as Suncorp, is an Australian finance, insurance and banking corporation based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was formed on 1 December 1996 by the merger of Suncorp, Metway Bank and the Queensland Ind ...

. The man had previously been convicted and sentenced to 12 months’ jail in 2008 for accessing

child pornography Child pornography (also abbreviated as CP, also called child porn or kiddie porn, and child sexual abuse material, known by the acronym CSAM (underscoring that children can not be deemed willing participants under law)), is Eroticism, erotic ma ...

via a “carriage service” and for possession of child pornography, and did not disclose the convictions to the company in his initial online application. Croucher defended her report on the basis that, under Australian law, people should not be discriminated against in employment because of their criminal record, if the criminal record did not prevent them from carrying out the "inherent requirements" of the job.

Honours

Croucher was honoured as a Foundation Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Law The Australian Academy of Law (AAL) is a permanent, non-government organisation devoted to the advancement of the discipline of law. According to its Constitution, the Australian Academy of Law comprises individuals of exceptional distinction from a ...

in 2007. She was appointed an Honorary Fellow of St Andrew's College of the

in 2002, a Honorary Fellow of the Australian College of Legal Medicine in 2004, and a Honorary Life Member of the Women Lawyers’ Association of New South Wales in 2013. She was recognised as one of the 40 ‘inspirational alumni’ of the

in 2011 and was acknowledged for her contributions to public policy as one of Australia's ‘100 Women of Influence’ by the

Australian Financial Review The ''Australian Financial Review'' (''AFR'') is an Australian compact daily newspaper with a focus on business, politics and economic affairs. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and has been published continuously since its foun ...

and

Westpac Westpac Banking Corporation, also known as Westpac, is an Australian multinational banking and financial services company headquartered at Westpac Place in Sydney. Established in 1817 as the Bank of New South Wales, it acquired the Commerc ...

. Croucher was appointed a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in the 2015 Australia Day Honours list for “significant service to the law as an academic, to legal reform and education, to professional development, and to the arts”.

Personal life

Croucher is married to fellow academic John Croucher. Her father, Frank McGrath, was a judge, and her maternal grandfather,

John Cumpston John Howard Lidgett Cumpston (19 June 1880 – 9 October 1954) was a senior Australian public servant, and first Director-General of the Department of Health. Life and career John Cumpston was born in South Yarra, Melbourne on 19 June 1880, to ...

, was the first Director-General of Public Health of the Commonwealth

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their o ...

. She played the

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

and

cor anglais The cor anglais (, or original ; plural: ''cors anglais''), or English horn (mainly North America), is a double-reed woodwind instrument in the oboe family. It is approximately one and a half times the length of an oboe, making it essentially ...

in the

Australian Youth Orchestra The Australian Youth Orchestra (AYO), formerly Youth Music Australia, is a training organisation for young musicians. It originitated in the Summer camp, music camps founded by John Bishop (academic), John Bishop and Ruth Alexander in 1948. AYO ...

in 1974.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Croucher, Rosalind 1954 births Living people Australian women lawyers University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of the University of Sydney University of New South Wales alumni Academic staff of Macquarie University Members of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Law Human rights in Australia Law reform in Australia